Compare bricklaying quotes properly
Brick quotes mix a lay rate, a materials boundary and a hire question into one number — and the number tells you almost nothing until you know what sits behind it.
Tick the items each quote explicitly prices. Not sure or can’t find it? Leave it blank — that’s the point.
| Scope item | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis stated: per-1,000 lay rate or lump sum, with quantities | |||
| Bricks, sand, cement and mortar additives — who supplies what? | |||
| Lintels and arch bars: supply and install included | |||
| Brick ties, damp course and flashings to code | |||
| Articulation/control joints per the engineering | |||
| Scaffold supply and hire duration | |||
| Acid wash / clean-down on completion | |||
| Weep holes kept clear and sills/soldier courses itemised | |||
| Waste removal and mortar cleanup |
General guidance only — the checklist covers the most commonly missed items, not every line your bricklaying package needs. Your drawings and engineering are always the final scope.
The items bricklayer quotes most often leave out
A blank in a quote is not "included" — it's "unpriced", and unpriced work comes back mid-build as a variation with no competition on the price. These are the lines to hunt for in every bricklaying package quote before you sign:
Pricing basis stated: per-1,000 lay rate or lump sum, with quantities
A lay rate without an agreed brick count is not a price — it is a formula you have not seen filled in.
Bricks, sand, cement and mortar additives — who supplies what?
Lay-only vs supply boundaries are the #1 reason brick quotes cannot be compared as totals.
Lintels and arch bars: supply and install included
Steel over every opening — commonly assumed to arrive "with the frame package" until it does not.
Brick ties, damp course and flashings to code
Invisible once rendered or pointed; missing DPC is a rising-damp claim years later.
Articulation/control joints per the engineering
Required on reactive soils; cracked walls are the visible cost of a quote that skipped the joints.
Scaffold supply and hire duration
Bricklayers cannot lay past shoulder height without it — silence means a hire bill with your name on it.
Acid wash / clean-down on completion
An uncleaned wall needs a specialist visit before handover — priced now or paid retail later.
Weep holes kept clear and sills/soldier courses itemised
Mortared-shut weep holes are a waterproofing defect found at lock-up — when the fix means cutting.
Waste removal and mortar cleanup
Brick rubble and mortar droppings are bin-loads; someone pays for the bins.
How to read your result
The comparison above is the first pass of the levelling method: make every quote answer the same scope list, then compare. When the tool finds blanks, don't cross that quote off — send each bricklayer their blank lines and ask for prices in writing. An honest contractor fills them in quickly; evasion ("we'll sort it on site") is information too. For the full line-by-line version across every item in your drawings, use the free levelling spreadsheet — and the quote comparison guide walks the whole method.